Storms
by Danetha
Summary: Ethan faces storms in his life. Will he be strong enough to weather them and make it back to his destiny? ** NOW FINISHED**
1. Wedding Bell Blues

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money

At the wedding…

He was in utter shock.Here he was, right in the middle of the most important day of his life, when suddenly everything went crazy.Ethan couldn't believe it, his mother crashing into the church and exclaiming that he could not marry Theresa.And the accusation that Theresa had been the one to expose his secret! That was preposterous! She loved him, and he was certain that the tabloid story was trash, just like his mother had always told him.He loved Theresa, and he was going to marry her despite what any tabloid or any person had to say about it. 

"I believe you, Theresa. I believe that you didn't send that e-mail to the tabloid," Ethan said, looking into her pleading brown eyes.

Looking up he stated, "I would like to finish the ceremony now, please."

Theresa grabbed his hand and said, "I love you, Ethan."

He walked toward the altar to marry the woman that he loved, the woman he could trust, the woman he lived for.

"Ethan, we need to talk" Theresa tugged at his sleeve.

"Theresa, I have already said that I believe you when you say you didn't e-mail the tabloid.So, what is there to talk about?I love you and I can't wait for you to be my wife." He looked up. "Father Lonigan, let's continue the ceremony."

"No, Ethan" Theresa insisted."I have to tell you something before we get married. Lets go to the bridal chambers so we can talk.Sheridan and Luis…you can finish your vows and we will be out in a few minutes."

She grasped his hand and led him out of the sanctuary, a thousand questions in his mind, and a burning worry in his stomach.

Theresa pulled Ethan into the bridal chambers and closed the door.

"I have something to tell you, Ethan. Please let me finish and don't interrupt."

She paused. 

"I swear to you that I did not e-mail the tabloid those papers.The truth, however, is that those papers were on my computer. I scanned them in there…"

"You mean you knew all along that I was not a Crane. You knew that I was Sam Bennett's son and did not tell me?!" Ethan shouted at her, the anger boiling inside him.

"Ethan, let me finish" Theresa pleaded.

"There is nothing more to say! I thought you cared about me, I thought you were honest with me! How could you do this? Mother was right, I can't marry you.I never want to see you again Theresa!"

"I love you Ethan. Please, you have to let me finish!" She was talking between sobs.

"No, Theresa. You don't love me, or else you would have been honest with me. I can't believe I gave my heart to you.I mean it, Theresa, I never want to see you again!"

With that, Ethan stormed out the door.

Theresa fell to the floor like a wet rag as sobs racked her body.


	2. Returning Home

Disclaimer: I own none of the people on Passions and I am not making any money off this

Disclaimer: I own none of the people on Passions and I am not making any money off this

Seven months later… 

(Sorry to skip the time, but I figured that if I ever wanted to finish this story, I had better skip a few months.My attention span is not so long, so I had to spit this out before I got bored and gave up.Thanks J)

Ethan sighed as he read the wooden sign painted with bold gold letters reading "Welcome to Harmony." He felt the same stab of pain coarse through his veins as the events of a Sunday seven months ago played like slow motion through his mind. Even now, he still could not believe what Theresa had done to him.He remembered her words, her apologies.He remembered leaving her there in that room, tears streaming down both their faces.He remembered getting into his car and never looking back.He was honest when he said he never wanted to see Theresa again, and from what his mother told him, she too had left Harmony not long after the wedding fiasco. He was hoping to find a brand new start here, but as he drove his car through the town, everything he saw reminded him of her.He knew this was going to be harder than he had ever imagined.

Ethan got to his hotel room with just enough time left to change before heading to his meeting.He had just been appointed as a lawyer for the doctors' union at Harmony Hospital.Today, he had a meeting with the Chief-of-Staff and the Board of Directors.Tomorrow would be his first official day of work.It felt good for him to be back to practicing law after spending the past few months traveling around the New England states, looking for his sanity.He was incredibly grateful for this opportunity, and ready to dive head first into the job. 

Author's Note: I promise that the next chapter will be much more detailed and include dialogue.The preceding two chapters are more of a prologue to the next one.I hope to have the final chapters written soon, so please check back.Thanks for reading!


	3. The Tour

Walking through the glass doors, the familiar smell of hospitals permeated his nose, and left him feeling even more nervous th

Walking through the glass doors, the familiar smell of hospitals permeated his nose, and left him feeling even more nervous than before.He hated hospitals, but figured he would just have to get used to it since he would be working at one all the time. Looking around, he was unsure exactly where to go when he saw, in the distance, a familiar face.

Dr. Eve Russell spotted him at the same time and came walking up.

"Ethan," she said sweetly, "it's so good to see you again." She pulled him into a hug.

Surprised, Ethan replied, "Good to see you again, too.Congratulations on your promotion to Chief-of-Staff."

"Thank you.I know that you don't officially start work until tomorrow, but I thought it would be nice for you to take a tour of the hospital.The Board of Directors will be here any minute and I will be leading the tour." She patted his arm. "Would you like a cup of coffee or anything while we wait?"

Knowing that he hadn't been able to really sleep in months and that he would need to be perfectly awake for starting his new job, he decided to lay off the caffeine.

"No, thank you" He replied and Dr. Russell nodded.

Just then the Board approached the two of them and an older gentleman in the front stepped forward to introduce himself."I am Dr. John Daniels, a retired surgeon and Chairman of the Board of Directors.You must be the Ethan Winthrop that I have heard so much about."

"Yes, sir.It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Daniels.I am looking forward to working with you." Ethan said as he shook the man's hand.

The rest of the Board introduced themselves one by one and Ethan began to calm down.Working here wouldn't be so bad.These people are really nice.

"Well, is everyone ready to begin the tour?" Dr. Russell spoke up.

A chorus of yeses signaled that they were all ready to go.Dr. Russell went to the front of the group and began telling everyone about the first floor emergency area.Ethan went second, and the Board followed as Dr. Russell led them through the halls.


	4. Arrival

Ethan was growing tired as the group got off the elevator on the seventh floor

Ethan was growing tired as the group got off the elevator on the seventh floor.Dr. Russell explained that this floor was the maternity floor where mothers gave birth.He thought about his own mother, giving birth here with no one at her side.The pain she must have felt made him sigh deeply.A lady beside him nudged him gently with her elbow and said, "This is my favorite part.I just love to see those newborn babies!"Ethan smiled weakly at her.Dr. Russell led them to the glass room where twenty babies were laying in basinets.Some were crying and others were sound asleep.

"They are all so beautiful, aren't they?" The lady nudged him again.

"Yes, they are" He spoke quietly, scanning the room to look at each name.None looked familiar though, so he turned to face Dr. Russell as she continued the tour.

"Next, we are going to the neonatal intensive care area. This is where doctors and nurses care for babies that are born too early or that have complications upon arrival." She continued talking about the details of the center, but Ethan tuned the most part of it out.He was growing tired, and ready to be finished with the long tour.To occupy himself, he looked in the doors at the new mothers as the group walked by.Most were sitting with their husbands or were sleeping.Without noticing, he had drifted to the back of the group and was alerted by Dr. Russell asking, "Ethan are you alright?"

"Yes, just got distracted I guess" He said and smiled.

When the group finally made it to the Neonatal Intensive Care Center, Dr. Russell stopped the group just before they made it to the viewing area.

"Just recently we added an area so that passersby and parents of these babies could see them just as they can see the healthy babies. When a baby is in care here, only a few people are allowed to go in and touch the baby for risk of infection.This way, the grandparents and other relatives can see the babies and the babies are still safe.I must warn you, though, some of these babies are really sick and small.That is why it is so important that they be given the best care." Dr. Russell finished her explanation and led the group on to the viewing area.

Behind that glass was a very different scene than the other viewing area.Inside incubators, Ethan saw babies barely as big as his hand, hooked up to tubes and needles, painfully struggling to live.It broke his heart.He once again scanned the names, praying that no one he knew had to see their child suffer like this.When he got to the back row, his heart stopped as he read the name "Lopez-Fitzgerald" on the card. 


	5. For the First Time

Dr

Dr. Russell saw Ethan's shocked face and a figure approaching him from behind and decided to lead the rest of the group along.Ethan stood there, staring at a little girl in an incubator.She was so tiny and sickly."No one told me that Sheridan was pregnant," he said out loud without even realizing it. 

"She wasn't." A voice behind him said.

Ethan jumped.He turned around a saw Sam Bennett standing there, flowers in his hand.

"What do you mean? What are you doing here?" Ethan asked, although in his heart he already knew.

"I came to see…my…granddaughter." Sam sighed and looked at the tiny baby.

Ethan couldn't move.He felt like he was going to die.Theresa had taken him at his word when he said he never wanted to see her again, even though she was carrying his child.And now that child lay here in the hospital, fighting for life, and Ethan felt helpless.

Sam laid a hand on Ethan's shoulder and Ethan began to cry.

"I didn't know.I didn't know Theresa was pregnant.Oh God, what have I done?My daughter is in there sick, and it's all my fault."Ethan said through sobs.

"This is not your fault, son.You didn't even know she existed, so how could you have helped her?" 

"I love her so much, Sam.I don't even know her and I love her.Just seeing her there, and knowing that she is my flesh and blood…"

Sam looked down and said, " I know how you feel.Having a child that you don't know about."

Ethan looked at his father and suddenly knew how painful it must have been for him, finding out that he had a child he never knew about.

Sam continued, "The first time I saw you after I found out that you were my son, I felt the same way you do now.I saw a fine young man and it hit me that a part of me was in you.That you were my flesh and blood, and at that moment, I loved you."

When Sam's eyes met Ethan's the father pulled his son into his arms.

"I love you, son"

"I love you, dad"

They held each other as they both cried.


	6. reconciliation

Ethan pulled away from his father and said, "Where is she

Ethan pulled away from his father and said, "Where is she? Is she alright?"

Sam pointed in the direction of Theresa's room and said, "734" as he dried his eyes.

Ethan was scared to death as he made his way to the room where Theresa would be.He already knew the look she would have on her face, the tears that would form in her eyes, and the hurt that would be in her voice. Finally reaching room 734, he wiped his eyes and tried to compose himself before going in.Theresa lay on the bed in front of him, staring out the window.

"Theresa?" Ethan spoke almost in a whisper.

She turned to look at him."Ethan…what are you doing here?"

He couldn't help but notice how hurt she looked.He had to bite his lip to keep from crying.

"I am starting a job here tomorrow and we were taking a tour of the hospital when I saw…" his voice trailed off.

"She's so beautiful, Theresa." He paused. "I am so sorry." He approached her bed and took her by the hand."I never would have left you if I would have known.I didn't even let you explain your side of the story.I just walked out, telling you that I never wanted to see you again.I am such a jerk!"

"No one knows about her." She spoke quietly and timidly. "I left Harmony to live with Tio Francisco and Tia Christina soon after the wedding.Mama, Luis, and Miguel have no idea that I am back. I wanted to tell them, but as soon as I arrived here in Harmony I went into labor.Dr. Russell promised me that she wouldn't tell anyone, but I told her she could tell Chief Bennett.I knew he would understand."

"I saw him in the hall" Ethan spoke through the tears that were dripping down his cheeks. "He was coming to see you and the baby.I treated him so badly.I know now what he went through.I had to learn how he felt the hard way, I guess."He sighed and looked up at Theresa, who had let him keep his hand in hers.It was evident that she still loved him, but he didn't know whether she could ever forgive him.

"Tell me everything." He said "But only if you want to.I want to know your side of the story."

Theresa sighed and started at the beginning, going down the list.She told him that she had gotten the job with his mother just to be close to him, that the wedding gown sketches were for her wedding to him instead of Gwen's, that she had made Chuck up to cover the fact that she loved him, and she finally got to the part about his paternity.

"I am not trying to blame you, Ethan, but you didn't make it very easy for me to tell you about your father.After the tabloid came out, you vowed vengeance on anyone who knew about Chief Bennett being your father.I was so scared that you would leave me, so I didn't tell you that I had found your mother's letters and scanned them onto my computer.You do not know how I felt that night at your engagement party to Gwen, when you read her that poem.I thought that all of my dreams had been shattered, and I was very hurt and angry.That didn't make it right, though. I should have confessed, but I just didn't know how to break it to you.I may not have told you everything I knew, but I never lied.I didn't send that e-mail to the tabloid, I swear."

When she was finished, Ethan sat in shock.

"How did we let it get this far? We hurt each other a lot, and it all would have been avoided if we had just sat down and talked about it." He gently touched her cheek. "I love you, Theresa.I haven't stopped thinking about you since the wedding.I want to try it again, for the sake of our child and if you say yes, I promise to always let you explain yourself.Theresa, I want to start over again and build a relationship on trust and love."

"I do too.I want to have a family with you and our daughter.I am so sorry that I kept things from you.I was only trying to protect you, but I ended up hurting you worse.Please forgive me." Theresa said as her big brown eyes welled up with tears."I have to ask you one thing, Ethan.If the baby…doesn't make it…do you still want to be with me?"

He kissed her gently on the lips."Fate brought me here to this hospital to get us back together.Theresa, I will never leave you again.I love you and even if the baby doesn't make it, I will be here forever."

As they kissed again, Ethan knew that the journey wasn't always going to be easy but he knew that he had been lucky.He said a silent "thank you" to God.

**Six weeks later, Ethan and Theresa took their healthy baby girl, Christabelle, home to a quaint two-story home Ethan purchased with his salary.They were married soon after that on the beach in a small ceremony.**


End file.
